Guardian Cities has moved – to Mumbai, for a week of live reporting and events in and about this wonderful city. And if, by any chance, you want to find us while we’re here, a good place to start would be The Hive, a community hub for culture and technology spread over three floors near the heart of the city’s Bandra district.
We’ve teamed up with The Hive for a series of events, including a discussion about how life is changing for women in the city (Monday 24th), followed on Tuesday by an evening dedicated to exploring Indian cinema today, with a screening of award-winning film The Ship of Theseus. On Thursday 27th, we will be hearing real-life stories about Mumbai at Tall Tales, the longest-running live storytelling event series in the city (go here for more details).
With performance spaces, a recording studio, a workshop space, as well as co-working and collaborative offices for start-ups and entrepreneurs (not to mention occasional skateboarders on the roof), the Hive has been described as “one giant lab-meets-playground inside a fantastical magical bungalow”. But we think it’s much more than that.
As creative industries continue to grow, flexible urban spaces for co-working and entrepreneurship are vital in supporting a diversified economy and empowering people in cities everywhere.
As well as being an incubator space, The Hive hosts a packed programme of cultural and community activities – from art exhibitions and music shows to markets and educational workshops.
Founder Sudeip Nair is a 34-year-old entrepreneur utterly committed to the cause of culture and community engagement, and incubating the talent of tomorrow.
He started six years ago by letting out the front room of his office to people looking for a space to practise or perform. In the process, he created what is now India’s longest running open-mic night, the Big Mic.
Check out the Hive’s Facebook page to find out more about their events and activities. Follow us @guardiancities to see how the week unfolds – or watch the events live-streamed here from 1.30pm GMT (7pm IST) Monday to Friday.
